You Need To Lighten Up
by mydoctortennant
Summary: When travelling after they've had an argument, Merlin and Morgana get fed up of them and take action...


_Arthur Bloody Pendragon._

That was all Gwen could think about. Arthur Bloody Pendragon and his eternal need to overpower every decision she made. It's not that easy. Surely he must have known that? It was okay for him, as Prince of Camelot he can do whatever he damn well pleased but she was just a serving girl. No matter how nice she was she could never be Queen. And if Uther ever found out she'd be in the stocks or the dungeon or burned at the stake or beheaded.

She's told him that many times in as many ways as she can but there was no getting through his thick, _thick_ skull.

And now he was trying to tell her to stay behind? It could be dangerous and after last time he didn't want to risk them going on their own. Or at all in Gwen's case.

Him going with them wasn't enough to let her go. Something about Morgana. It was like he didn't completely trust her not to tell Uther about their so-called-but-not-actual relationship. Sometimes Gwen wondered why she loved him; because sometimes he made it really hard to find a reason. Then she remembered there was a reason why they called it unconditional.

X

Stubborn. That's what Gwen was, ridiculously stubborn. She had spent far too much time with Morgana. He just wanted her safe was that too much to ask? Apparently it was. Now they were on horseback as far away from each other as they could get without rousing suspicion. Merlin was already throwing them the odd glance in questioning. Some days Arthur wondered why he confided in Merlin at all. He couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Gwen had to convince him that it wasn't Merlin's fault that Gaius knew;

_"Well if you will publicly confess your emotions in he middle of the hospital people were bound to see."_

She was infuriating.

That was the only word for her.

Well, not the only word. Infuriating, gorgeous, noble and damned near perfect worked too but he was annoyed so 'infuriating' would do perfectly.

He was replaying their argument in his head. They'd thrown around words such as 'arrogant' and 'stupid'. He was 'pig-headed' where she was 'unbearable'. She was 'careless' when he was 'brash' and now he was paying for it.

She had situated herself on Morgana's far side, leaving Merlin next to him and her completely out of reach.

If he could just get close enough to apologise it would be okay.

Then she responded to Morgana's remark about men all being the same saying 'idiotic and insufferable' in a disdainful tone, he looked at her and she was shooting him her famous furious glare.

"Better than being a woman, eh Merlin?" he cajoled, not looking at her as they carried on riding up the path.

"Er-" Merlin looked between him and Gwen with a confused frown. The look on Gwen's face told him '_Agree with Arthur and I'll never talk to you again, after leaving you to the young noble ladies as bait._' whereas Arthur's was loaded with_ 'Take her side and you'll have so many chores you'll never see the light of day again.' _so he chose not to answer. Luckily Morgana covered him by spouting on about how much of a jouster most men were (apart from Leon).

"Honestly Morgana, you must open your eyes."

"I'm in agreement," Arthur and Merlin both looked to Gwen with raised eyebrows not expecting her to take his side so easily, "Leon is the only knight who knows how to treat women."

"How would you know?" Arthur blurted before he could stop himself.

"Unlike some, Arthur, Leon treats women with respect," Morgana responded through narrow and suspicious eyes, "All women."

"Including _servants_," Gwen added still shooting him daggers.

"I treat you with respect," he countered, forgetting that Morgana was there for a split second.

"You treat me like a servant," she said through a huff of laughter.

"I do not-"

"Perhaps a little," Merlin inputted in attempt to stop them letting the whole world know of their situation.

The silence for the next hour was tense and bordered on unbearable. Nobody dared speak until Arthur declared they should stop and allow the horses a rest.

Gwen disappeared towards the river in order to fill her flask. Arthur launched himself in the other direction deeper into the trees to relieve himself.

"What's going on, Merlin?" Morgana asked once they both stood between their horses.

"We're going to visit your father's grave."

"Merlin-"

"I can't tell you."

"Has something happened between them I should know about?"

"It's not my information to tell. You should ask Gwen."

X

Arthur rounded the trees in a large loop and came to the riverside a couple of strides away from the object of his current torment.

"I shant be long, my lady," she spoke out her voice cracked as she discreetly wiped her cheeks.

"I am no lady," Arthur said, keeping his distance.

"Come for round two?"

"No," he answered honestly leaning against the tree next to him nonchalantly trying to convince her that he was no threat to her.

"Then what do you want?"

"Did you really mean what you said?" he asked looking to the floor embarrassed, "Do I treat you like a servant?"

"Sometimes," she said truthfully, "As you should."

"No, I shouldn't."

"You order me to do things and expect me to abide. Other times I wish you would treat me more like a servant because it would make it easier to hate you."

"Hate me?" he pushed off the tree then and took the final steps to stop in front of her.

"I cannot love you, Arthur, we both know that."

"Guinev-"

"Just leave it there."

"No. I won't just leave it. If I have done something to make you unhappy, Guinevere, tell me. Let me have it."

"You can't say you don't treat me like a servant then expect me to followed your every command. You say one day it'll be different, how can it be if you still expect me to serve your every whim? You treat me like you would any other maid that warms your bed."

"Theer are no-"

"You say you love me then prove it!"

"How can you doubt me?"

"Easily when your actions defy your words."

"Why must every conversation end in an argument today?"

"Because you're impossible to be civil with. You are arrogant and rude and you think of no one but yourwelf!"

"You act as if this is easy for me! To have you so close but so far. Most days I wish that I wasn't the prince. I would rather trade places with Merlin than me _Prince_ Arthur."

"Then there was a sudden sensation of being wet all over. IT was followed by a long cackling of laughter.

In front of him, also soaked head to toe, was Gwen, looking up at the bank to Merlin and Morgana.

"You wouldn't want to be me, Sire."

"I don't know, Merlin. I think you'd make a dashing Prince," Merlin puffed out his chest and smirked down at Arthur mirroring the look on Morgana's face, "You need to lighten up," the King's Wrd stated with a smile on her face. She was satisfied having gotten one up on Arthur, "It's not all doom and gloom you know."


End file.
